Tom Frantzen

We enjoyed a delightful day out in Troyes on Friday. We took a stroll along the canal, just enjoying wandering around the old buildings and loving the sculptures we were discovering.

By one of the waters edges is an absolutely joyful sculpture, ‘La ribambelle joyeuse’. It is a group of children diving into the water by a large fountain, accompanied by a penguin in a bathing hat and a duck with a snorkel. What fabulous imagination.

Tom Frantzen, the sculptor for this little group of fantastic characters, combines his fantasy and Belgian humour to create lively, animated scenes. He studied in Brussels at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture et des Arts visuels de La Cambre. Mostly based in Brussels, he describes himself as a contemporary Flemish fantasy artist, and in 2019 he was commissioned to produce a statue of Hergé - the creator of Tintin - to sit in front of the Hergé museum in Brussels. We will definitely go and see that one day.

Just along from this fun little group of swimmers he has created another wonderful cheeky scene, ‘Attendez-moi’ (wait for me), where an excited dog jumps through a hole in the railings of the bridge and chases some geese into flight. They are both such darling scenes and really quite beautiful to see. They add to the modern freshness that has been crafted around this area.